Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all watched in horror as events unfolded in recent weeks. We have all seen the bombs rain down on the most densely populated place on earth. The bombing of Gaza has left thousands of Palestinians injured and dead, many of them women and children. Let us be clear that collective punishment, deliberately targeting civilians and deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure is a clear breach of international humanitarian law, which, in turn, is a war crime. The UN is warning us of a humanitarian disaster unfolding right before our eyes. The collective punishment of blockading Gaza and denying access to food, water, electricity and medical aid to its citizens is also prohibited under international law. The forced displacement of Palestinians by Israel to the south of the Wadi Gaza line is also a breach of international law.

We must see an immediate ceasefire by all involved and we need to see it now. The illegal occupation, siege and policies of apartheid must stop. What we have seen in the past two weeks points to an urgent need for international intervention and for efforts to be made to impose a ceasefire immediately. This needs to be followed up with a pathway towards a sustainable peace for a region and a roadmap to a Palestinian state.

This situation sits on a knife-edge. The atrocities that we have witnessed have the potential to spill over and violence could spread across the Middle East. There must be a concerted effort by all the parties involved to ensure that all human life and rights are protected. The world cannot stand by any longer and just watch. The Palestinian people have suffered for decades. It is time now that their suffering stopped.

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